Four players from the Aravali Cricket Academy are set to feature in this year’s IPL — the legacy of a coach who died before he could see his methods bear fruit
In 2021, seven years after Vivek Yadav — a former First Class cricketer who played a handy role in Rajasthan’s Ranji Trophy triumph of 2012 and was even picked for an IPL team — gave up a playing career to become a coach of repute in his home state, his life was tragically cut short. He would suddenly succumb to COVID-related complications from early onset kidney cancer, never getting to see the results of his methods and convictions.
Initially leasing a small ground from a school to turn the local Aravali Cricket Club into the Aravali Cricket Academy on the outskirts of Jaipur, the facility Vivek founded would become one of the premier destinations in the state. Next week, as many as four of his proteges will hope to take the field in this year’s IPL.